Criticizing Obama Is Hate Speech?

I was recently on Facebook and a "friend" decided to rant on a totally unrelated topic that I posted about how words can hurt. He stated that my postings about Obama on Facebook were offensive and out of taste, etc.

I took the occasion to entertain the debate as he is of a liberal mindset and has shown the ability to take my comments out of context before.

I told him that my criticisms of Obama were about the way he is taking our country, and his policies were hurting our country.  Yes I do make fun of Obama, but he is not immune from criticism or mockery in the public square. Especially when he treats himself like a king and runs the rest of us into the ground with a token wave of his royal hand.

This is hardly hate speech. Radical Muslims wanting to kill Americans. That is hate speech. Burning the American Flag on American soil. That is hate speech. Telling our kids that their parents wholesome morals are wrong and unjust, that is hate speech.

So criticizing Obama in the public arena is hardly hate speech. If anything, it holds our dear President accountable for his actions. I have never been concerned positive or negative about his mixed race. I am concerned about the man and what he is about. And I have every right within reasonable social exchange to express my views as all others do, including the uber liberal crowd who seeks to silence those that oppose their agenda. If I were to silence my critics, my critics could silence me. This is not the America I want to live in. The remaining communist nations and some so called "social democracies" have  speech restrictions on ordinary discourse among citizens in America. I hope we don't become the European Union or worse China because one groups free speech rights are favored over the rest of the people.